 The suburb is sparsely populated, with most of the residents living in the southern portion of the suburb.Port Stephens was under consideration as the main seaport for New South Wales, as well as the national capital, and a large city-style subdivision of the peninsula was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, with an architectural plan drawn by his wife Marion, on behalf of the landowner, Henry Halloran, a developer and surveyor.Griffin's plans included two railway stations, a business district, federal and state office sites, a factory district, car parks, wharves, parks and playgrounds.